The Great Defenders
The Great Defenders is an episode of Kratts' Creatures about creature defenses and how they are used. Episode Summary The brothers and Allison enter the Creature Clubhouse and pack supplies for an adventure to investigate the defensive powers of creatures in the North American Forest. Allison films the brothers as Martin camouflages himself with branches, only to find a walking stick insect. This illustrates the power of camouflaged insects. The brothers also explain how chameleons use camouflage. Next, they find a monarch butterfly and illustrate how they use poisonous milkweed to their advantage. Martin begins mimicking Chris before slamming into a tree trying to catch a viceroy butterfly, which uses mimicry as a defense. He actually ends up catching a monarch butterfly, and then a satyr butterfly with eyespots to distract predators. Martin gets stung by bees, so everyone heads back to the Clubhouse to let him heal. He heads back out with a bee-keeper’s hat, illustrating the power of armor. A natural example is found in the snapping turtle, which bites Martin’s toe. They head back to the Clubhouse again and bandage up Martin’s foot. Ttark lectures Martin with possibilities of what he could have done to save his toe, including the five-lined skinks’ appendage regeneration, octopuses’ ink clouds, and sugar gliders’ gliding ability. The brothers get back up and find creature warning signs in the striped skunk. Unfortunately, a dog upsets the skunk and Martin gets sprayed. They go back yet again so Martin can take a tomato-juice bath. Martin imagines scientists manufacturing skunk spray, while Allison informs viewers about skunks. Another trip into the woods leads Martin to find Chris evading him in the trees like a squirrel. While up there, Chris finds a goshawk nest. The mother dive-bombs the brothers to protect her young, and Martin needs first-aid yet again. Ttark explains how many animals try to look bigger to impress predators after Martin covers his head in protective gear. Chris finds a porcupine, then a fisher, and explains how the fisher is able to hunt porcupines. Allison wonders whether porcupines can actually throw their quills, but Chris confirms that it’s just a myth. He also volunteers Martin to show how porcupines defend themselves (“for science”). Ttark explains to an injured Martin that quills are designed to come out after cutting through the predator; not after being pulled out. Martin decides to be extra careful, while, in a change of luck, the others get defended against by many creatures at once. Everyone concludes that defenses are used only as a last resort, and realizes that first-aid kits are very useful. List of Species Seen * Walking Stick Insect * Monarch Butterfly * Satyr Butterfly * Red Squirrel * Honeybee * Striped Skunk * Domestic Dog * Northern Goshawk * North American Porcupine * Fisher * Grizzly Bear (Mentioned) * Bobcat (Mentioned) * Whitetip Reef Shark (Mentioned) * Lionfish (Mentioned) * Giant Sonoran Centipede (Mentioned) * Plains Zebra (Mentioned) * Impala (Mentioned) * Nine-Banded Armadillo (Mentioned) * Black-and-White Poison-Dart Frog (Mentioned) * Dyed Poison-Dart Frog (Mentioned) * Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog (Mentioned) * White Rhinoceros (Mentioned) * Lion (Mentioned) * Meerkat (Mentioned) * African Elephant (Mentioned) * Hippopotamus (Mentioned) * Flap-Necked Chameleon (Mentioned) * Wahlberg's Eagle (Mentioned) * Viceroy Butterfly (Mentioned) * Trumpetfish (Mentioned) * Butterflyfish (Mentioned) * Short-Beaked Echidna (Mentioned) * Common Wombat (Mentioned) * Thorny Devil (Mentioned) * Five-Lined Skink (Mentioned) * Giant Octopus (Mentioned) * Great White Shark (Mentioned) * Termite (Mentioned) * Acacia Ant (Mentioned) * Red-Billed Buffalo-Weaver (Mentioned) * Fiddler-Crab (Mentioned) * Leopard (Mentioned) * Spotted Hyena (Mentioned) * Sugar Glider (Mentioned) * Great Horned Owl (Mentioned) * Giraffe (Mentioned) * Cheetah (Mentioned) * Bottlenosed Dolphin (Mentioned) * Wolverine (Mentioned) Category:Kratts' Creatures Episode